While getting a tour of Yamaha’s French factory (you know, the one they’re keeping open), the folks at MotoBlog.fr spotted something they’d never seen before: an upgraded FZ8 naked bike labeled as the Yamaha FZ8R. After some negotiating with the tuning fork brand, the French publication was allowed to take a photo of the bike’s body panel, as a sort of proof of life in their story.

Expected to be announced soon, the francophones spotted on the FZ8R an upgraded exhaust by Lazer, Öhlins suspension stickers (and perhaps an Öhlins shock), but what looked to be stock forks and stock brakes.

In all the package looks very close to what’s being used in the FZ8 Cup, which could lead to some speculation on how prevalent of a model the Yamaha FZ8R could be. The apparent reasoning behind the FZ8R appears to be that the Japanese company wants to compete with the Kawasaki Z750R and Triumph Street Triple R more effectively.

No word on which markets will get the FZ8R, but we imagine Europe for sure will see the modded FZ8 hit dealer showrooms.